Covid-19 ‘lab leak theory’: China attacks India stand

NEW DELHI: After India supported WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus’s call for a deeper probe into the origin of Covid-19, China responded on Friday by saying that the study of the virus’s origin was a matter of science and to politicise this issue would “severely hinder global cooperation in study of origins, jeopardise anti-pandemic cooperation, and cost more lives”.

It would run counter to the international community’s aspiration for solidarity against the virus, the Chinese embassy here said in a statement.

“Study of origins is a global mission that should be conducted in multiple countries and localities. We believe the joint WHO-China study will effectively stimulate global cooperation in origin-tracing,” the embassy spokesperson said.

India had on Thursday backed Ghebreyesus’s remarks in which he had raised the issue of delays and difficulties in accessing raw data for a team conducting a global study into the issue. The WHO chief had also called for a deeper probe into the lab leak theory. India appreciated his readiness to deploy additional missions for the probe.

The Chinese embassy spokesperson referred to the WHO-China report released earlier this week which concluded that lab leak was unlikely, describing it as an important scientific conclusion made clear in the joint study report.

“As for the question of further research, experts of the WHO mission said there has always been speculation about lab leak, and work could be done with laboratories around the world if there is further evidence that the hypothesis needs to be reassessed,” the spokesperson said.

“The experts said the virus may have been spread in places other than China early on, and a global perspective is needed to carry out the origin-tracing work. The report also proposes multiple tasks to be conducted worldwide. We hope relevant countries can cooperate with WHO expert mission in an open, transparent and responsible manner like China did,” he added.